Today I want to write a quick special blog to say thank you to everyone who has supported me here on IGN. I've only been an active IGN member for a little less than two months and I have already met a ton of great people and I have enjoyed countless hours of conversation with other gamers who enjoy gaming as much as I do. I mentioned in my introduction blog that I was considering starting up my own gaming related website and I greatly appreciate all of the follows and positive feedback my posts and game reviews have all recieved from each and every one of you. Its been a fun ride so far these first 8 weeks and I enjoy writing for you guys and I look forward to continuing writing blogs and game reviews for your enjoyment.

Hello IGN community. My name is Chris Michaels and I have been a member of MyIGN for almost 6 weeks now. I realized earlier today that I never made an introductory blog so I thought now would be a good time to introduce myself to everyone. Basically I'm a huge fan of video games. I enjoy playing video games as much as I enjoy writing and talking about video games.

I started out with the original NES, Gameboy and Gameboy Color and I was a huge Nintendo fan as a kid, especially for Super Mario. Years later I picked up a SEGA Master System and became hooked on SEGA gaming for a while. When the "next gen" systems came out, I chose the SEGA Genesis over the Super Nintendo. I played a lot of great classic Genesis games. I stuck with SEGA for one more generation and picked up the SEGA Saturn, but by then, both SEGA and Nintendo were getting dominated by Sony's new Playstation. So I traded in the Saturn and picked up my first Playstation console.

I spent the last 18 years with Playstation and havent looked back. Ive had PSone, PS2, PS3, PSP and PS Vita....and yes, I plan on picking up a PS4 this year. Im obviously a huge fan of Playstation consoles and Ive played almost every PS3 exclusive titles. A few years back a friend of mine convinced me to pick up an Xbox360. I never had an Xbox and quickly became a big fan of Mass Effect and Gears of War. Last year, another friend convinced me to get into PC gaming. So far Ive played a couple of great PC games including Diablo 3 and Star Wars the Old Republic. Just recently, I picked up my first Nintendo console in almost 20 years when i bought a 3DS.

I consider myself an all around video game enthusiest. My other hobbies include baseball, comic books, paintball and snowboarding. I look forward to writing about and discussing any topic related to these and I hope you all enjoy the read. Im considering eventually starting up my own video game review website. I'd appreciate the support so if you like reading my posts, please feel free to follow me. Thanks and happy gaming.

With the launching of Sony's new Playstation 4 console later in the year, many people feel the era of the Playstation 3 is coming to an end. Now it's no secret Sony continues to support their consoles well after the successor is released, so by no means does anyone believe the PS3 will be simply retired after November. However, beginning in 2014, Sony's main focus will shift over to the PS4. That being said, Sony has put themselves in the position of finishing this current console generation the strongest out of all three big companies.

In the first part of this blog, I discussed what in my opinion, helped put Sony and the PS3 back into the video game console race this generation after suffering a clumsy launch and lackluster first couple of years. I focused on the PS3's rich library of AAA and award winning quality exclusive franchises of the past six years that helped boost gamer interest back into the Playstation brand. These high profile PS3 exclusive titles included: Uncharted 2: Among Thieves, God of War 3, Metal Gear Solid 4: Sons of the Patriots, Killzone 2, Resistance Fall of Man, InFamous, Gran Turismo 5, LittleBigPlanet, Heavy Rain and MLB The Show.

Now that we've seen what Sony has done in the past, it's time we turned our attention to what Sony is doing in the present to finish off this generation strong. 2013 will be the final year for the PS3 to shine before it takes a back seat to the PS4 and Sony has held nothing back to make the PS3's final year the biggest close out year of any of the big three companies for this generation. I put together a list of the top 10 upcoming PS3 retail exclusives of 2013 that, in my opinion, will give the PS3 the strongest finish of this console generation.

1. The Last of Us - Without a doubt, the most anticipated PS3 exclusive game of 2013 is The Last of Us. Some might even argue The Last of Us is one of the most anticipated games of 2013 period. Myself included. The Last of Us is an amazing looking game from Sony's top exclusive developer, Naughty Dog and has already won several "Most Anticipated Game of 2013" awards.

2. Beyond: Two Souls - Anyone who played the 2010 award winning title Heavy Rain knows the high level of quality they can expect from Quantic Dream's new PS3 exclusive IP, Beyond: Two Souls. Mixing in a deep story with beautiful realistic graphics, Beyond Two Souls is helping to prove that the PS3 is still a powerful gaming system.

3. God of War: Ascension - Very few game franchises can stand the test of time. God of War is one of those franchises. God of War has been one of Sony's most successful titles through the PS2, PSP and now PS3. Its no surprise the PS3 has a God of War game closing out its final year, considering the God of War franchise also closed out the final year of PS2 right before the PS3 launched. I cant think of a better franchise or character to best represent the PS3's struggle this generation than that of a man who fought his way up from the depths of hell to defeat the king at the top of the mountain.

4. Gran Turismo 6 - If God of War is one of the few franchises that can stand the test of time, than Gran Turismo is one of the other ones. Sony has unofficially announced that Gran Turismo 6 will also be closing out the final year for PS3. Much like God of War, Gran Turismo has been one of Sony's most successful titles through the PSone, PS2, PSP and PS3. And with GT5 selling over 9 million copies and becoming the most popular #1 selling exclusive racing simulator of this generation, its no surprise Sony wants Gran Turismo 6 to help PS3 have the strongest finish.

5. Ni No Kuni: Wrath of the White Witch - Sony began 2013 on a high note with the critically acclaimed JRPG, Ni No Kuni: Wrath of the White Witch. Drawing comparisons from the best elements of high profile franchises like the Tales series and Pokemon, Ni No Kuni proves the JRPG genre is still strong and relevant in today's gaming landscape.

6. Sly Cooper: Thieves in Time - The PS3's final year also marks the return of one of Playstation's oldest and best franchises that we haven't seen since the PS2 era...Sly Cooper. Sly's newest adventure brings us back to a day when action platforming titles were exciting and Thieves in Time was a definite treat to play, especially in a time now when it seems like every game being released wants to be a FPS shooter clone.

7. DUST514 - Another new IP title for Sony, DUST514 is a massively ambitious game that has a lot of promise for Sony. DUST514 is a Free to Play MMO FPS that is also cross console compatible with the very popular PC franchise Eve Online. Although MMO's have always been a PC exclusive genre, Sony is no stranger to MMO's on a gaming console when they launched another successful Free to Play MMO...DC Universe Online.

8. MLB13 The Show - For the last several years, MLB The Show has continued to be the absolute best Baseball video game on the market and one of the best overall Sports games of this console generation. MLB The Show has seen massive success through the PS3, PSP and Vita and continues to prove why the franchise is a AAA quality title that will continue on into the PS4.

9. Until Dawn - The 5th new IP on this list, Until Dawn is very impressive looking new survival horror title that proves Sony isn't afraid (no pun intended) to keep investing and developing in new IP franchises. Until Dawn has a classic "scary movie" feel to it and will be even more immersive with the PS Move/PSEye peripheral. For those gamers who still might enjoy using the PS Move, Until Dawn is also the 3rd game on this list to use PS Move motion gaming along with DUST514 and MLB13 The Show. It's good to see Sony keeping the PS Move relevant, even this late into the PS3 lifecycle.

10. Diablo 3 - Diablo 3 being announced as a shared PC exclusive was big news for Playstation gamers. The Diablo series is one of PC's oldest and best franchises and Diablo 3 was one of PC's biggest games of 2012. It's a definite big last minute addition to the PS3 library and although it's not a pure Sony exclusive since it is a 2012 PC title, non-PC gamers will only be able to play Diablo 3 on a PS3 and PS4 home gaming console.